The present invention relates to a suit which will isolate a wearer from the environment, particularly to provide contamination protection, and which includes a combined supply of breathable air and a body air conditioning system.
Many occupations, including those existing in the nuclear industry, require that workers be outfitted in airtight suits which protect them from radioactive surface contamination and/or toxic gasses. Generally, these suits, by their nature, provide a high level of thermal insulation so that, particularly in a warm environment, the thermal gain within the suit is such as to cause the wearer to experience abnormal perspiration, resulting in considerable discomfort and rapid fatigue. Of course, this limits the length of time during which work can be performed while wearing such a suit, as well as the quality of that work. In an effort to obviate these difficulties, a variety of air conditioned suits have been proposed. Typically, such suits present substantial power requirements, in the range of 1-2 hp. Since such power requirements can not be satisfied, in practice, by batteries, these suits must be connected to heavy, non-portable power supplies. Liquid fuel powered air conditioners have also been proposed, but have been found unacceptable due to heat rejection problems as well as restrictions on bringing a combustible hydrocarbon fuel into certain work areas.
Compressed air umbilical-cord type air conditioned suits which utilize vortex cooling nozzles to expand air into the suit for cooling have also been proposed. Such suits are presently considered state-of-the-art for use in the nuclear industry, state and federal fire fighting organizations and the military for hazardous environments. These suits have a limited mobility and extremely limited range because they must be connected to a compressor support unit by an umbilical cord which must have a limited length in order to operate properly and avoid tangling of the cord.
In addition, for use in environments which do not have breathable air, workers must be provided with an air supply, use typically being made of scuba tanks, or bottles. These bottles are relatively heavy and bulky and can generally carry a maximum of a thirty minute air supply.